SEOUL — A South Korean court was deciding Wednesday whether to issue a warrant for the arrest of Samsung’s de facto chairman for his alleged role in an explosive corruption scandal that has riveted South Korea.
Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, attended a four-hour-long court hearing at Seoul Central District Court Wednesday morning, where Samsung lawyers argued against arresting him on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.
The 48-year-old, who remained silent as he arrived at the court, went to a detention center south of Seoul to await the decision. The court’s deliberations went past midnight into early Thursday local time.
“We fully explained [our position] to the court,” Song Woo-chul, an attorney for Lee, told reporters after the hearing. “We are sure that the court will make a wise decision.”
If he is arrested, it will mean that both the head of South Korea’s biggest business and the country’s president have fallen — at least temporarily — in the widening scandal that revolves around allegations of bribery and influence at the highest levels.
The National Assembly voted to impeach Park Geun-hye last month over her alleged role in the case, leading her to be suspended from office while the Constitutional Court decides whether to approve her impeachment. That decision could come as soon as next month.
[ Samsung heir questioned in South Korea’s sensational bribery scandal ]
Now, as Samsung’s flagship electronics unit struggles to emerge from its embarrassing recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last year, its leader has become embroiled in the scandal.
Although Lee is technically vice chairman of the group, he has in effect been running the company for almost three years while his ailing father lies unconscious in the hospital.
Many of the case’s allegations revolve around the Lee family’s suspected efforts to keep control of the corporate behemoth. Special prosecutors appointed to investigate the case accuse Lee of authorizing at least $36 million in payments to Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of the president who held no official position.
Choi allegedly put pressure on authorities to approve the $8 billion merger of two Samsung units, part of a plan to strengthen the family’s hold on the group, which it controls through a complex web of cross-shareholdings, despite owning only a tiny stake of it.
The National Pension Service, a major Samsung shareholder, is suspected of supporting the merger on Choi’s instruction. The head of the service, a former health minister, was indicted Monday in relation to the scandal.
[ South Korean court to begin considering President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment ]
Choi, currently on trial for bribery, coercion and abuse of power, has denied trading on her relationship with the president. “I have never received any special benefits or treatment from the government,” she said during a court hearing Tuesday, according to local reports. “The president is also not such a person.”
At a parliamentary hearing last month, Lee denied being involved in any bribery scheme but admitted that Samsung had given a $900,000 horse to Choi’s daughter, an Olympic equestrian hopeful.
Bribery and corruption have long been a hallmark of business dealings in South Korea, but if he is arrested, Lee will become the first leader of a big business group to be detained over the scandal.
The special prosecutor has indicated that SK, Lotte and CJ, all second-tier conglomerates, were next in its sights.
Conglomerates are accused of giving a total of $70 million to two foundations run by Choi, ostensibly sports and cultural charities. Prosecutors allege that they were in fact cover for bribes paid to Choi to help secure favorable treatment for their businesses.
Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about South Korea’s extraordinary scandal
Scandal shows that ‘Korean disease’ of corruption far from cured
South Korean prosecutors seek warrant to arrest Samsung head
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“ We hope to create an ultra-fast train, which will travel inside a state-of-the-art low-pressure tube at lightning speeds, in the not-too-distant future,” a Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) official told  the Korea Times on Tuesday.
He said the state-run institute will join forces with other research groups and Hanyang University to develop the new ground transport within the next three years, which would be able to travel from Seoul to Busan in half an hour, instead of the current time of three hours.
“ To that end, we will cooperate with associated institutes as well as Hanyang University to check the viability of various related technologies called the hyper-tube format over the next three years, ” the official said, noting the bold initiative will enable South Korea to take its place among countries “ competing in futuristic technology.”
Hyper-tube technology, mentioned by the official as one of the formats the new project will be based on, is a mode of passenger and freight transportation that propels floating pod-like vehicles through tubes under a partial vacuum at speeds greater than a passenger jet – up to 800mph.
READ MORE: Space tourism breakthrough? China working on hypersonic spaceplane with horizontal takeoff
The technology was first proposed by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, but now the open-source technology is being developed by a number of companies, university students, and independent engineers.
US-based Hyperloop took the lead last year by raising $80 million for development, and is currently working to make the futuristic mode of transportation a reality. In May last year, it conducted its first ever propulsion open air test in the Las Vegas desert along a half-mile track.
“ Many countries such as the United States, Canada, and China are competing to take the lead in this futuristic technology and we will also try to pre-empt our global rivals,” a KRRI official added.
“ The government has focused on interdisciplinary research and this will be the biggest effort we are working on to develop a representative future technology. ”
The KRRI noted that there are drawbacks to hyper-tube technology, stating it is vulnerable to engineering flaws. For instance, if the tube is damaged in a natural disaster or an explosion, the pods travelling through it would crash due to the loss in negative pressure, resulting – at the speeds the technology aims for – in tragedy. The Institute, however, plans to look for ways to overcome these challenges, the official told the news outlet.
If the development proves successful, it will be twice as fast as the fastest existing ground transport in the world – the magnetic levitation (maglev) train, which uses magnetic levitation to move the vehicle without contact with the ground. With magnetic levitation, the vehicle travels along a guide way using magnets which create lift and propulsion, reducing friction and allowing very high speeds. Maglev trains can travel at speeds of up to 500km per hour.
READ MORE: Hyperloop One to take on underwater transport
The first maglev in commercial operation was a low-speed shuttle that ran between the airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport and the nearby Birmingham International railway station between 1984 and 1995.
In December 2015, the first maglev train line construction was launched in Japan – it is set to be finished and ready for operation by 2027. In China, the Shanghai Maglev Train, or Shanghai Transrapid, is the third commercially operated high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world and is currently the fastest. Maglev trains cannot, however, compete with hyper-tube trains in speed – while both technologies have no friction, maglevs are significantly slowed by air resistance, while hyper-tubes travel in a vacuum and can attain speeds almost twice that of maglevs.

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Currency swings overnight weighed on Asian equities Monday, following President-elect Donald Trump’s jolting comments that the dollar is too strong, prompting the greenback to fall to a one-month low.
Trump made his comment about that the dollar was “too strong” which makes it hard for American companies to compete with China, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal .
The U. S. policy has been for a strong dollar since the Clinton administration’s Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is dues to speak later on Wednesday in the U. S. on monetary policy goals.
Meanwhile, sterling saw its biggest one-day gain against the greenback overnight since October 2008 after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her plan for a clean break between the U. K. and the European Union .
The pound soared against the softening dollar, to trade at $1.2355, earlier trading as high as $1.2415.
Down Under, the ASX 200 fell 0.55 percent in early trade, weighed heavily by its heavily-weighted financials sub-index.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.39 percent as the dollar/yen falls below the 113 handle and as financial stocks weigh.
A stronger yen is generally seen as a negative for Japanese stocks as it impacts the competitiveness of Japanese exports and lessens profits earned overseas when repatriated.
Toshiba jumped 2.02 percent, after the Nikkei financial daily reported that Toshiba was considering spinning off its semiconductor business and selling a partial stake in the unit to Western Digital.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.21 percent, as the country grapples with a political scandal that has led to the impeachment by parliament of President Park Geun-hye and implicated the country’s largest conglomerate’s chief.
Samsung Group chief Jay. Y. Lee has arrived in court in Seoul on an arrest warrant issued by a special prosecutor over allegations he bribed President Park Geun-hye and one of her confidants in exchange for political favors. Samsung Electronics was up 0.22 percent, while Samsung C&T slipped 1.6 percent.
The Shanghai composite opened down 0.1 percent, while the Shenzhen composite opened 0.3 percent lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.79 percent in early trade.
Hong Kong-listed MGM China fell 2.38 percent while other casino stocks were positive, after the company announced that the opening date of MGM Cotai will be delayed from the second-quarter of 2017 to the second half of the year, the third revision of timing.
“We believe the delay is more due to construction challenges and getting the ‘right’ product for the opening, but needless to say, an on-time opening will require obtaining necessary government approvals in a timely manner,” said research analysts at Nomura, in a note on Wednesday.
In the broader currency markets, the yen strengthened against the dollar, at 112.96 compared to yesterday’s levels around the 114 handle, while the Australian dollar last traded at $0.7544 against the greenback.
Markets stateside were all lower, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 0.3 percent to close at 19,826.77, the S&P 500 finished down 0.3 percent at 2,267.89 and the Nasdaq composite ended 0.63 percent lower at 5,538.73.

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The U. S. Army is slated to deploy 24 AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopters to the Korean Peninsula to better deter military threats from North Korea, United States Forces Korea (USFK) announced in a January 8 statement.
The heavy attack helicopters will replace 30 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior observation and light attack helicopters. Around 360 U. S. Army personnel are expected to replace a similar number of U. S. troops currently serving with the OH-58D unit.
“The 1-6th Heavy Attack Reconnaissance Squadron (H-ARS) will begin to arrive to Korea on this month, bringing with them 24 AH-64 Apache helicopters. As part of a scheduled rotation, the Apaches will replace the 30 OH58D’s currently stationed on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement reads.
“The helicopters will be temporarily housed at Suwon Airbase until the new aviation facilities at Camp Humphreys are ready.”  The U. S. Army base–the largest U. S. military garrison in Asia–is located near the city of Pyeongtaek, around 70 kilometers south of Seoul.
All 24 helicopters are scheduled to arrive by early February.
“Of the 24 AH-64 Apache helicopters, 16 will temporarily reside at Suwon Air Base, primarily for maintenance and limited readiness training, while the primary training facility will remain at Camp Humphreys, which will house the remaining aircraft.”
The AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopter is one of the world’s most advanced multirole combat helicopter currently in service. Armed with laser-guided precision Hellfire missiles, 70 millimeter rockets, and a 30 millimeter automatic canon, the aircraft’s primary mission would be to stop incoming North Korean main battle tanks in the event of war.
The South Korean military has placed a $1.6 billion order for 36 AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters, a more advanced version than the AH-64D, in 2013. In late December 2016, South Korea conducted its first military exercise involving six AH-64Es. U. S. defense contractor Boeing is slated to deliver all 36 heavy attack helicopters by the end of 2017.
As part of the contract, Boeing delivered the first AH-64 Apache training system in August 2016. “Boeing will provide two years of training and maintenance on the system. The delivery completes one portion of South Korea’s $1.6 billion order for 36 Guardian helicopters and training and logistical support,” the company noted in a press release.

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MANILA — The wife of the abducted and murdered South Korean businessman, Jee Ick-joo, arrived at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila, before 5 p.m. on Wednesday , after government investigators confirmed the dumping of his remains in a funeral parlor and the illegal cremation of his body in another.
Choi Kyung-jin was accompanied by a man, said to be her translator, and another Korean woman.
She spoke with Director Roel Bolivar, commander of the Task Force on Illegal Drugs, which has been overseeing the investigation of Jee Ick-joo’s kidnapping and murder, for over an hour in his office.
After their meeting, Choi had to be assisted as she stepped out of the office and walked to her vehicle. She had declined interviews by the press.
After she left, a visibly distraught Bolivar then faced reporters and talked about how he informed Choi of her husband’s death.
“We had the opportunity to personally inform her of her husband’s death and cremation,” he said. “She was thankful for the Bureau’s swift work.”
Bolivar told of the difficulty to inform Choi of her husband’s death. “She told me of their plans: to stay in the Philippines, put up a business and even establish a foundation for poor Filipino children,” he said.
“They wanted to grow old here, permanently stay here in the Philippines,” he added.
Teary-eyed, Bolivar said he was hurt when Choi asked him what her husband, a former director of a South Korean heavy industries firm in the country, did to deserve his untimely demise.
“I have no answers for her,” he admitted.
The director said the NBI committed to continue the investigation and eventually press charges against the perpetrators, after the gathering of sufficient evidence.
The remains of Jee, who was abducted from his home in October 2016, was cremated in a different funeral parlor from where he was initially taken, according to the NBI.
The NBI agents, led by the task force, conducted on Wednesday , a follow-up operation on another funeral home in La Loma, which reporters discovered to be the St. Nathanielz Crematorium.
The media had trailed during the operation, but were not given more details on the matter, pending investigation.
Ross Jonathan Galicia, task force deputy commander, said they were not able to speak to the management of the crematorium, as only the staff were around.
The press were also barred from entering the premises.
Bolivar said they would still investigate how the body was brought to the Gream Funeral Services, where the remains were reportedly brought first.
The NBI will also look into documents that would prove that Jee was indeed brought to St. Nathanielz after.
As for reports that his ashes were flushed down a toilet bowl, Bolivar refused to confirm any specific details, as it might affect the investigation and drive the perpetrators into hiding.
In a phone interview with Supt. Ferdinand del Rosario, deputy chief of Caloocan police, he confirmed that Gream was not equipped to handle cremation services.
“Upon personal inspection, we found out that there is no such crematorium in Gream funeral,” he said.
He added that the funeral home was only a small operation, with a morgue and a temporary storage facility.
Del Rosario said crematoriums in the city could be found inside the La Loma Cemetery.
Gream is owned by Gerardo Santiago, barangay chair of Barangay Bagbagin 165, according to Del Rosario.
He added that Santiago was a retired cop, reportedly formerly assigned with the Northern Police District.
“According to the funeral home’s employee, he is out of the country,” he said, adding that it has been operating for around 20 years.
Five employees of Gream, meanwhile, were brought in by the NBI on Tuesday for questioning and to give their sworn statements.
Jee was abducted from his home on Oct. 18, 2016, along with a househelp, Marissa Dawis.
Investigation by the Luzon Field Unit of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group said cops barged inside Jee’s home with a fake arrest warrant, saying the foreigner was involved in drug activities. It was guised under the  “Oplan Tokhang” operation.
Dawis was let go by the kidnappers past midnight on Oct. 19 , but recalled hearing her employer offer P4 million in exchange while they were inside her boss’ black vehicle.
Choi had reportedly paid P5 million in exchange for her husband, without the knowledge of the police. SFM

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The police force is widely regarded as one of the Philippines’ most corrupt institutions, a reputation reinforced by accusations three officers were involved in abducting and killing a. “Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances” by police and military forces were the Philippines’ most significant human rights issue, the US State Department said in its annual human rights report in 2015. Since then police have reported killing 2,250 drug suspects and another 3,710 people killed in unexplained circumstances as part of ’s controversial drug war. Three policemen abducted the South Korean businessman last year when they went to his house on the pretext of a raid on illegal drugs, then killed him the same day but claimed he was still alive to extort money from his wife, authorities said. Newly elected President Duterte accused five police generals – two retired and three in active service – of being part of the country’s illegal drugs trade. All five denied involvement, but the three active-duty officers were removed from key posts, though none of them has been charged in court. A judge dismissed a case last year against an Australian man accused by police of drug trafficking. Police had claimed the man was arrested in a raid on a Manila street with ecstasy tablets. But CCTV footage presented to the court showed police had hauled him out of his hotel room. The judge dismissed the case after ruling the police officers had fabricated evidence and their testimonies had no “integrity”. Two gunmen on a motorcycle killed a female anti-crime activist outside her home on the central island of Mindoro in October last year but were then wounded in a gunfight with police and arrested. The assailants turned out to police officers, one of them a police chief of a neighbouring town. Police said the two would be charged with murder. A policeman was charged in 2015 over his alleged involvement in the kidnapping-for-ransom by Islamic militants of an Australian man, Warren Rodwell, in the southern Philippines. Rodwell was held for 15 months and released after a ransom was paid. Rodwell then identified the policeman as the negotiator for the Islamic militants. Ten police officers were sacked in for running a secret prison in a safe house near Manila where jailors wearing wigs and masks spun a roulette wheel to pick among a list of tortures to be meted out against inmates. The tortures included a 20-second beat=down, electric shocks and hanging inmates upside down like a bat for 30 seconds. The government’s Human Rights Commission exposed their activities. A video went viral on social media showing a naked man at a central Manila police station screaming in pain as the precinct chief whipped him and yanked a rope that appeared to be tied to the victim’s penis. The police chief was sacked. Sixty-five police and military officers were among nearly 200 people charged for participating in the Philippines’ worst political massacre in 2009, when a prominent Muslim clan organised the ambush of a convoy of its political rival and accompanying journalists. Fifty-eight people were killed. The officers allegedly took part in the attack to stop a rival of the Muslim clan from filing his election candidacy for provincial governor. Their trial is ongoing. Nine senior Philippine police officials, including the comptroller in charge of the force’s budget at the time, were briefly held at a Moscow airport for carrying 105,000 euros (US$112,000) while on their way to an Interpol conference in another Russian city. The Ombudsman, the government’s special anti-graft prosecutor, filed graft charges against the officials in 2013 for the alleged misuse of police intelligence funds for their travel expenses. The case is ongoing.

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